Rain
by Bookworm591
Summary: Ron and Hermione are both unsure about how the other feels about them. Their feelings are blossoming, and it leads up to a kiss  or two  in the pouring rain.. Ron/Hermione, fluff in later chapters. R&R!
1. Restlessness and a Redhead

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything other than the plot and the idea for the story. Everything else (Hogwarts, characters, etc.) is the property of J.K. Rowling and WB.**

Author's note: Hey guys! This was just a little drabble sittin' on my computer, and I thought I might as well publish it to see what you think. This is my first Harry Potter fanfic, and it's all about Ron/Hermione and their blossoming feelings for each other. I did my best to not let my Americanism show in my writing, but feel free to comment if I've used any incorrect English phrases, or if the story doesn't sound legitimate. Anyway, without further ado, enjoy the story!

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><p>Hermione's Perspective:<p>

The rain pounded against the library windows as I wrote my Potions essay. The downpour distracted me; I kept catching myself staring at the drops sliding down the clear glass, mesmerized by the way they sparkled and connected with other droplets. As beautiful as the rain was, it made me angry that I could not concentrate on my Potions because of it. It didn't help that the assignment was boring and quite difficult. Every time I looked back down at my unfinished essay and tried to add on to the bloody thing, the musical sound of the falling water got into my head and kept me from focusing. After an unsuccessful half hour, the rain became all I could think about; it was driving me mad. I felt angry at the rain, even resentful towards it. Letting out a frustrated growl, I jumped up from my seat, grabbing my books and slamming my chair into the table I had been working at. I heard the librarian issue me a fierce "Shhhhh!" before I was out the door. As I turned the corner, on my way to the common room, I slammed right into a tall redheaded boy and fell to the floor. My books cascaded out of my arms, and the one book the boy was holding fell on my head.

"Hermione!" Ron exclaimed, "I was just looking for you!"

I muttered, "Ouch," and put my hand to my forehead, feeling the unmistakable warm trickle of blood. He picked up my books for me before asking,

"Bloody hell, 'Mione, are you alright?" he asked as he pulled me up of the floor, his voice laced with concern.

"Er, thanks," I said as he handed me my books, "Yeah, I'm alright Ron."

"Hold on, you're bleeding! I'm sorry Hermione!"

"It's not too horrible, just a cut," I assured him, although I did think it was sweet of him to be concerned over something so petty and trivial.

"Let me see it," Ron murmured, putting his hands on both sides of my face and staring intently at the gash, leaning in so close that our noses almost touched. I blushed a deep pink and shivered slightly with pleasure, as I always did when Ron touched me. I had observed that my feelings for Ron had changed drastically lately, going from nothing but a friend, to a girlhood crush, to a fancy. I had always fancied him of course, but it was only recently that I was able to admit it to myself. Merely the sight of him now gave me a wonderful warm feeling... when we weren't in a row of course. That was the catch for Ron: he could be so intoxicating yet so _infuriating _at the same time; it was mind boggling. However, it kept me on my feet, and his sensitive and loving moments made up for those moments in which he acted like a thickheaded prat. The only really awful part of my infatuation with the youngest male Weasley was knowing that he thought of me as nothing more than a friend and a personal encyclopedia.

" 'S not so bad," he said, leaning back, as I released my breath; I must have been holding it when Ron brought his face so close to mine.

"So tell me," he began after a quick moment of silence,"Why'd you leave the library? I was coming to find you to ask for your help on Potions."

"Don't give me that rubbish, Ron. When you say you need my help, you mean you need to copy my work," I told him with a slightly annoyed tone.

"Can't fool you, can I?" He replied with a small smile, making my annoyance disappear. "You never told me why you left though."

"Well.. The truth is, I had trouble with Potions too. The sound of the rain kept me from focusing properly; it was driving me mad!" I confessed. His eyes widened to the size of quaffles when I came to the part about having difficulties with my assignment.

"Hermione Granger... The smartest, most committed witch at Hogwarts... Having troubles with her homework... I don't believe it!"

"Oh shod off, Weasley," I muttered, giving him a playful punch, yet smiling to myself at his compliment. He grinned my favorite lopsided grin, making my heart flutter as fast as the wings of Pigwidgeon, Ron's owl.

"That rain must've really been bothering you," he mused, "if it kept you from doing your homework. What do you have against it, anyway?"

"It's not that I have anything against rain, Ron.. It's just.. I don't know, maybe I just needed a break from my homework, that's all," I tried to explain.

"Well then, breaks are my specialty. Whatd'ya say we go for a walk in the rain?"

I barely resisted jumping up and down with glee at his offer; however, I failed to hide the obvious shock on my features.

"You? Me? A Walk? Together? _Alone_?"

His face turned tomato red at my questions, making him realize what his offer might mean. To me, he was even more adorable when he blushed. I suppressed a sigh; I would never have the courage to tell this lovely redheaded boy how I felt about him, whether I was in Griffindor or not.

"I- W-well.. I just meant.. I mean- Do you want to come or not?," He stuttered, ending with a rather desperate voice. I nodded, my eyes wide.

"I'd like that," I murmured, my voice hardly above a whisper.

I couldn't quite read his expression. It looked... Relieved? Happy, maybe?

We made our way through the corridors, which were empty apart from a couple snogging in a corner. When we came across the two lovebirds, we both blushed slightly, quickening our pace and hoping desperately not to be seen and to be caught in an awkward moment; luckily, the students were entwined so tightly with each other and preoccupied so intensely on sucking the other's face off, that Ron and I got past them with out a problem.

We didn't start a conversation until we reached the huge, oak double doors:

"Ron, are you sure about this? I mean, we don't have umbrellas or anything, so we'll get awfully wet.." I said to him as he pulled open the great wooden doors. Immediately, a cool breeze bursted through the open doors, playing with our hair and ruffling our cloaks. I was very aware of the way the wind blew across his face, making his hair behind him like a moving fire. It was breathtaking.

"Oh, come on, Hermione! Surely you're not afraid of a little water..." He coaxed. I stood up a bit straighter at his comment.

"Of course not!"

"Well then," he said, stepping into the downpour, "What are you waiting for?"

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><p>Thanks for reading! Please please please review, it really motivates me to write more!<p> 


	2. Tricks and Touches

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything other than the plot and the idea for the story. Everything else (Hogwarts, characters, etc.) is the property of J.K. Rowling and WB.**

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><p><em>On a quiet summer day<em>

_when the clouds are oyster gray,_

_the rain falls down, softer then a sigh,_

_as I stand under the melting sky._

_-Anonymous _

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><p>Ron's Perspective:<p>

After examining the rain for what seemed like minutes, Hermione finally stepped outside to join me. We both remained silent as I watched her close her eyes, letting the water saturate her hair and run down her face. A smile slowly crept across her flawless features as her radiant skin soaked in the drops.

She was breathtaking. Everything about her was beautiful. The way her curly locks fell behind her head like a waterfall as she leaned back... The way beads of water were caught in her dark eyelashes, rimming her warm brown eyes, which were still closed at the moment... The way her lips parted, allowing droplets to softly touch them, making me wish that my lips took the place of those particular droplets at that exact second...

_Bloody Hell_, how I wished my lips could touch hers, even if only for a moment...

_What was I thinking? _Hermione was my best mate, and absolutely nothing more. It had always been like that, and it always will be like that. That's how it should be, and that's how I wanted it..

If that was the way I liked it, then why was I having _fantasies _about her?

_Because you fancy her, you idiot! _a side of me screamed at myself.

Was that true? _Did _I really fancy Hermione?

I looked at her again, noticing the way it made me feel. Every time I glanced at her, my heart beat faster, going from _thump... thump... thump... _to _thumpthumpthumpthump!_

I _did _fancy her! How has it taken me _so bloody long_ to notice? No wonder Harry smirks whenever I talk about Hermione! I bet he knew even before I di-

"Ron? What are you staring at?" Hermione questioned, pulling me out of my reverie.

"Errr... I uh.. n-nothing," I answered like a stupid git, feeling my face and the tips of my ears getting hot. Luckily for me, she let it pass.

A playful smile danced across her face.

"Ron, there's something on your cloak," she said, staring at my chest. I glanced down and asked "Where?" right before she pointed her index finger to the spot and then brought it up to my face, flicking me in the nose as my head was facing down.

"Hey!" I protested, "What was that for?"

She giggled at her little trick and then said in a taunting voice,

"You'll have to catch me to find out!"

Hermione took off on a sprint across the grounds.

It took me a moment to gather my wits, but as soon as I did, I bolted after her. She was quite quick, but I had longer strides.

We tore through the vegetable garden, careful to jump over growing produce, and around the green houses, laughing all the way. It was a little hard to see Hermione through the thick sheets of falling rain, but the water drenching us made it all the more fun.

We were heading straight towards the Whomping Willow, but just as I was about to yell to Hermione to watch out, she ran a wide circle around the bewitched tree.

"I'm gonna get you!" I called to her, quickening my pace. She just laughed.

She skirted the Forbidden Forest, and then made a beeline for Hagrid's Hut. Just as the two of us were passing his pumpkin patch, which was full of huge, orange pumpkins, I got a clever idea; I was going to play a trick on Hermione, just like she played that little trick on me.

As she entered a grove of trees separate from the Forbidden Forest, I found the perfect moment to pull my antic.

While trying to make it around the trees, I tripped over one of the gnarled roots and fell to the ground, feigning a sprained ankle.

"Ow!" I yelled in the best pain-filled voice I could manage, "Bloody HELL, that hurt! Hermione, come back!" I positioned myself sitting on the wet ground with my knees pulled tightly to my chest, gripping my 'hurt' ankle.

My plan worked; she came running back towards me, even faster then she had when being chased.

"RON! You're hurt! Oh goodness, what happened?" She questioned, coming to my side, her face full of worry and panic.

"My foot got caught on one of the tree roots, and I twisted my damn ankle," I seethed, trying to pull off a pained expression. Surprisingly, she resisted lecturing me on my swearing.

"Let me see it," she murmured, leaning over me to get a better look at my ankle. Just as she reached out her arm to touch my ankle, I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her down beside me.

"Gotcha!" I laughed loudly, smugness clear on my face. Hermione was confused for a split second, before becoming completely enraged. I saw that dangerous fire in her eyes that I always longed to see. That's why I fought with her so much: to get a glimpse of that fire that I could only find in her anger.

"RONALD - WEASLEY - YOU - AWFUL - PRAT!" She yelled, hitting me in between every word. She climbed on top of me, striking my shoulder, my chest twice, and my arm. Her eyes were wild.

"Geroff me, 'Mione!" I shouted, making an attempt to push her off of my chest.

"Don't you DARE call me ''Mione'! Why in the world did you pretend you were hurt, you.. you-" She gave an exasperated sigh, seeming to be at a loss for words at what to call me, so she just punched me in the stomach again. I had no choice; I used all my force to push her over onto the ground on her back, locking her wrists with my hands.

"Calm down! I was only feigning an injured ankle so I could catch you! I didn't mean to make you angry, or upset... I was just pulling a trick; besides, you pulled one on me too," I reminded her. We were both silent for a moment, the only sound coming from the falling rain, which already had us sopping wet. Hermione gave an involuntary shiver under me.

"Are you cold?" I asked her. She nodded, and I noticed that her arms had goose bumps. That was when we realized what an awkward position we were in. I was on top of her, half of her body pressed against mine, my arms on both sides of her shoulders. We both blushed a deep crimson.

"Er.. Sorry," I muttered, immediately scrambling to my feet, Hermione doing the same.

"You should take your cloak off; it's probably only making you colder, since it's already soaked," I said, desperately trying to change the subject.

"Good idea," she replied, removing the thick mass of wool. Underneath she wore a white blouse with a thin purple sweater on top, and rather tight jeans. I was completely aware of the way the fabric clung to her body, emphasizing those curves that were nonexistent just a year before...

I shook my head, trying to clear those thoughts, and decided to remove my heavy cloak as well.

We walked closely together out of the little grove of trees, and I was very conscious of the back of her hand brushing mine. When the two of us were out in the open again, under the full force of the rain, we stopped, unwilling to go on.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she murmured, but I didn't bother to see what she was staring at, because I was staring at _her_.

"What is it, Ron?" she questioned, catching me staring at her for the second time today. This time, however, I didn't say "nothing". In fact I couldn't say anything. I was speechless.

We were only inches away.

_Kiss her, Ron! Do it now, you won't have another chance like this one_, my heart yelled.

_Don't do it Ronnie, it'll ruin your friendship! _my mind argued.

_You're running out of time! She needs to know how you feel; you'll regret not showing her, _my heart said back.

_She doesn't think of you in that way! Why would she, when she could have a famous, RICH quidditch player? _my mind coaxed.

_You've got to do it. Just kiss her. Otherwise, she'll pass you by; she can't wait forever. You're in Griffindor for God's sake, just find the courage and do what you need to do. _

My heart was right; I needed to do this.

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><p>Cliffhanger... sorta. Kiss will be next chapter; I tried to do it in this one, but I guess I had "writers' block" because I blanked out. Please review, I want to know what you think!<p> 


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